Two German heroines, both of them created as protagonists in
fictitious narratives, gained world-wide recognition in literature,
music, and the fine arts: Goethe’s Mignon in Wilhelm Meisters
Lehrjahre [Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, 1796] and
Lorelei invented by Clemens Brentano in his novel Godwi
(1801-1802). Whereas Mignon turned into the incarnation of romantic
longing, in the wake of Heinrich Heine’s poem (1823), Lorelei
became synonymous with a dangerous femme fatale. In his youth
Brentano attended the Gymnasium at Koblenz (1787-89) and travelled
along the Rhine, where he came across medieval echo-legends
surrounding the rocky cliff on the right bank below St.
Goarshausen, a hazardous …

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Citation:
Hoffmeister, Gerhart. "Heine’s Lorelei and Her Reception".
The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 December 2011
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=17668, accessed 03 March 2015.]

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17668Heine’s Lorelei and Her Reception2Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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